'Music can change people's minds. We'll see what happens,' Fall Out Boy's Andy Hurley says.
"You all came to this concert," Melissa Etheridge opined midway through a smoldering evening set at the Live Earth concert in Jersey, "because you are Americans."
That's one way of looking at it. You could probably also argue that plenty of the 60,000 or so people who made their way out to Giants Stadium on Saturday (July 7) were concerned citizens of the world, plunking down their hard-earned cash to make a statement that the real fight against global warming begins today .
Or perhaps everyone was just here to have a good time, to watch a bunch of bands, get sunburned, throw back some adult beverages and chuck footballs around the parking lot.
Because, really, for all the pre-show discourse  about just what the point of Al Gore's Live Earth concert series was, the biggest surprise on this Saturday in the Meadowlands was that no one - not the fans, the bands - seemed to know either.
Sure, there were plenty of enthusiastic speeches from the musicians and the assembled celebs, scientists and politicians, but there was also a whole lot of silence, particularly from some of the marquee acts. Kanye West - usually not one to keep quiet about anything - said nothing about climate change; local gods Bon Jovi seemed pissed that they were limited to a 20-minute set; and the Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan only spoke to plug his band's new album.
Still, the speeches that were made were greeted with a bizarre level of enthusiasm from the crowd, and the entire upper deck was teeming with pro-environment banners and T-shirts. Then again, it was also teeming with shirtless, passed-out dudes and their bikini-clad better halves.
It was a little bit surreal, a little bit inspiring and a little bit awesome. Part Woodstock, part Wango Tango, Live Earth certainly didn't feel like a once-in-a-generation event. But, then again, with an anticipated audience of 2 billion worldwide, and concerts on all seven continents, maybe it was.
So for those who cared about ending global warming, about being part of something greater than themselves, and about seeing Kevin Bacon or Cameron Diaz making speeches, there was plenty to be happy about. And for those who came just to see a lineup that rivaled any rock-radio fest, there was a whole lot to get pumped about, too.

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